Technologies Revolutionising Cosmetic Surgery

The coming years and currently, there are many technological innovations and techniques that have the potential to alter the face of cosmetic surgery. You may have heard of 4D technology, prosthetic muscles and digital integration as emerging technology in the medical field; these will play a huge role in advancing the future of surgery and medicine. In fact, plastic surgery is a swiftly transforming field of medicine, that will only continue to shift and develop.

We asked some experts to comment on five technological advances that could alter the face of plastic surgery within the upcoming few decades. Keep reading to discover more.

1. 3D Printing

If it comes to 3D printing, the future has arrived, and 3D printing has already started to seep into the mainstream practices. In plastic surgery, 3D printing has mostly been employed for modelling; this is, printing out versions of structures and attributes (e.g., the nose), manipulating them on a computer to achieve an optimal model, then printing them out again compared against the originals. That is already having a direct effect on preoperative surgical planning, optimisation of results, along with other facets of the surgical procedure. This reduces mistakes and gives surgeons and patients an idea of what the result could look like. For example, a surgeon could digitally model and print different options for breast augmentation and help the patient with decision making before the procedure.

2. Biologic Products

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a biological product is just one who “reproduces natural compounds such as enzymes, antibodies, or hormones within our bodies.” Also called biologics, these goods represent the leading edge in medical science and study.

Biological products can be produced from sugars, proteins, nucleic acids, along with a mixture of those compounds. They are also able to be living things, like cells. Biologics are comprised of a variety of natural sources deriving from people, animals, and microorganisms.

In plastic surgery, they function as a substitute for synthetic substances and sometimes can offer even more significant advantages. Benefits can range from reduced inflammatory reaction to shielding against premature burn-wound progression. Later on, plastic surgeons may have the ability to use biologics as replacements for present tools, and they may even be more affordable than current synthetic products.

3. Personalised Tissue Engineering

From a health standpoint, tissue engineering has been utilised with some success. And later on, it might signify that bodily structures such as ears, windpipes, and epidermis could be grown in the laboratory and subsequently implanted to restore function and form. The prospect of improvements in tissue engineering is exciting to plastic surgeons due to the possibility of being able to manipulate the tissue.

4. Transplanting Complex Structures

In the last few decades, surgeons have made excellent strides in the transplantation of complicated structures because of better comprehension of human anatomy, advancement in immunosuppressant treatments and increased understanding of risk factors and complications to a case-by-case foundation. Because of this, processes as complicated as full-face transplant are successfully done. But at this point, such operations aren’t done on a mass scale, because many challenges remain. However, as technology and knowledge increases in this field, we hope to see more courageous procedures take place. Technology has already allowed the process of transferring fat to the breast to become a safe and prevalent alternative to synthetic implants.

5. Anti-ageing Breakthroughs

Many medical specialists are convinced that forthcoming discoveries will considerably slow or even reverse the ageing process, such as outward signs of ageing. These discoveries will probably result in dietary and pharmaceutical remedies which will assist folks to seem younger. With the prevalence of non-surgical alternatives that reduce visible ageing such as dermal fillers for the face and neck regions as well as laser treatments for blurring lines and wrinkles. All this raises the issue: would plastic surgery be required? As clinical discoveries let the general population to not only live longer but also more visually, plastic surgeons will indeed become more significant. These folks are busy and just don’t wish to appear old. This sector of the populace will, undoubtedly, be adoptive of plastic surgery. Patients will probably always be in need of plastic surgery therapy irrelevant to this ageing process, for example, reconstructive surgery and medically necessary procedures.

What else do the future of medicine and cosmetic surgery hold?

It is impossible to predict all the new future technological advancements in plastic surgery; there is a good chance that the above-mentioned techniques will play a role. Listed below are some other inventions we may hear about shortly.

  • Advancements in immunosuppression protocols based on new technology originating from regions like biological products;
  • Bio-engineering improvements in prosthesis
  • 4D imaging, with time as the fourth dimension. This may be useful in reconstruction for mapping the entire body in Addition to mapping practical results.
  • Digitalisation of data, by which physicians might be able to accurately record and control patients’ anatomical attributes manipulated to mimic postoperative outcomes.
  • General technological advancements which could have a substantial impact but aren’t especially linked to plastic surgery; for instance, advanced social networking platforms, digital interactive technologies, big data and artificial intelligence.